My youngest has started 3rd class and with that the dreaded Irish Spellings! And is finding them challenging! My eldest did also when he started them, though over time, I noticed they did become easier for him or for want of a better phrase he "got the hang of" them.
As it happens I am currently reading a book on the teenage brain which touched on this subject and explains why we can find learning new things tricky and that there is hope!!!
The Science: Every time we repeat an action, the relevant neurons and connections in the brain are activated. The more we practice the action, the stronger those particular connections between the neurons become. And hence the better you become at that task!
So, with Irish spellings (in our case!), the new pathways just need to be developed and grow stronger over time (with practice)!
If you don't use those connections regularly however, they may die off. For example, if your child has forgotten how to do fractions after mastering them last year, the connections/neurons essentially need to be rebuilt again!
Explaining This to Kids!
So my 8 year old was getting quite disheartened, so I explained how this works to him using a tree analogy.
The Irish Spellings are new to him, so they are like seeds. He is planting them at the moment (in his brain). As he practices and learns new spellings, its like feeding and watering the seed (the new pathways in his brain are getting stronger) so it will grow into a strong tree (when the connections/pathways develop). When this happens, it will get easier to learn them.
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